Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 17-01-10

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Erdogan, Tsipras point to Geneva talks' importance for Cyprus reunification

[02] Cavusoglu: Turkey will not abandon its guarantor role in Cyprus

[03] How the Turkish Cypriot press covers the Geneva negotiations

[04] Turkish commentary says successful outcome of Cyprus talks requires encouragement of Athens, Ankara

[05] Arikli alleged that they have some "plans B'" in case of the Cyprus negotiation talks fail

[06] Cavusoglu: Turkey has two main demands from Trump administration to mend ties with US

[07] Turkish Parliament strained as charter talks start

[08] The three resigned CTP members joined TKP New Forces

[09] The breakaway regime is to be promoted in the Netherlands

[10] Turkish Lira tumbles to new record low against dollar

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Erdogan, Tsipras point to Geneva talks' importance for Cyprus reunification

According to information obtained from Turkish presidential sources, both parties stated that a constructive approach to the issue is crucial for the island. Emphasizing the importance of the current five-party Geneva talks, Erdogan and Tsipras said that a positive outcome is expected from the diplomatic effort.

Tsipras said earlier that he is ready to attend the Cyprus talks with top level representatives.

[02] Cavusoglu: Turkey will not abandon its guarantor role in Cyprus

Addressing Turkish Ambassadors gathered in Ankara for an annual conference on Jan 9, Cavusoglu said Turkey would continue its positive will and stance in the Geneva talks and expects a similar attitude from all other participating parties.

"As blood spills in many places across the world, peace reigns Cyprus and the reason for this is the guarantee provided by Turkey. This guarantee cannot be abandoned," he said, pledging that Ankara would "not leave Turkish Cyprus alone," regardless of the outcome of the Geneva conference.

[03] How the Turkish Cypriot press covers the Geneva negotiations

Meanwhile, according to the paper, the Swiss government hosted a dinner for the Cypriot officials which are in Geneva. The Republican Turkish Party (CTP), the Social Democracy Party (TDP) and the Democratic Party (DP) were represented by their chairmen and the National Unity Party (UBP) by Oguzhan Hasipoglu, a party official who is not even a "deputy". The self-styled foreign minister of the breakaway regime, Tahsin Ertugruloglu did not attend the dinner because Foreign Minister Kasoulides was not there, according to the paper. Referring to the issue, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris Postasi (10.01.17) columnist Rasih Resat writes that Ertugruloglu's "diplomatic message" by not participating in the dinner is that "if Kasoulides attends the five-party conference on 12 January I am here and ready in Geneva to implement the rules of reciprocity as the foreign minister of the TRNC".

Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (10.01.17) reports that Eide stated that within the next few days we will know whether the Cyprus problem could be solved. Eide said that the process between 9 and 11 January is very important, but not holding the international conference on 12 January is out of the question. This process will determine the level and the quality of the five-party conference, he noted. Recalling that the Cypriots are the owners of the negotiating process, he said that teams from the World Bank and the IMF are working with them in Geneva.

The paper writes also that Turkish Cypriot leader's spokesman, Baris Burcu briefed the media on the content of the talks in the morning noting that the property and the governance and power sharing were discussed and some points may be turned into convergences. He said that the leaders assigned experts with the duty of working on these issues and added that a meeting would take place in the afternoon in an effort to reach convergences on these issues.

Citing diplomatic sources, journalist Esra Aygin writes in Yeni Duzen (10.01.17) that the international conference on Cyprus which will start on 12 January and the success of the summit in general depends on the progress achieved by the leaders on the issues which remain open in the five chapters. The sources said that the leaders have in front of them a list of about 25 issues in these five chapters. "One of the factors which decreases the possibility of having a final result in Geneva is the fact that before the conference neither the Turkish Cypriot and the Greek Cypriot sides, nor the guarantor powers at interstate level, conducted a serious dialogue and preparation on the issue of the guarantees and security", writes Aygin noting that the progress to be achieved by 12 January will determine the level of participation of the guarantor powers in the conference. President Erdogan, Prime Minister Tsipras and Prime Minister May are expected to participate in case the progress reached within the first three days creates the opportunity to reach an agreement, argues the journalist.

Mertkan Hamit, journalist of Yeni Duzen reports that the "key" of the negotiations held yesterday was the rotating presidency and the effective participation of the Turkish Cypriots in the decision making mechanism.

Under the title "Tough bargaining", Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (10.01.17) reports that during the first day of the Geneva negotiations, the sides preserved their positions on the basic issues, waited for the other side to make a move and the desired progress was not achieved. According to the paper, a huge gap divides the sides on the guarantees issue. The Turkish side wants reassessment of the guarantees in 15 years after the solution, while the Greek Cypriot side wants an agreement which will provide that not a single Turkish soldier will remain in the island after ten years. Turkey and Greece have also different views on the guarantees, writes the paper adding that Greece is ready to abandon its guarantee rights and withdraw the Greek regiment from Cyprus, while Turkey does not want to abandon its guarantee rights, even though it sees positively the withdrawal of some Turkish troops from the island. The paper argues the following: "The process in Geneva has come to a deadlock on the property and the governance chapter. […] The Greek Cypriot delegation took no step on the rotating presidency issue. Anastasiades is determined not to make a move on the rotating presidency unless he takes what he wants on the chapter of guarantees".

Journalist Huseyin Ekmekci, one of the paper's correspondents to Geneva, writes that according to information leaked to the press, yesterday morning the Greek Cypriot side submitted a new working document including issues on which agreement has been reached. The document put the Turkish side in a difficult situation, argues the journalist, because even issues which had been agreed and therefore were written in black, were turned into blue again (that is into Greek Cypriot views).

(I/Ts.)

[04] Turkish commentary says successful outcome of Cyprus talks requires encouragement of Athens, Ankara

"Some are tired of hearing it, while some don't even want to hear it. Yet, in terms of the leadership on the divided island of Cyprus, there is the right alignment of stars. Both Turkish leader Mustafa Akinci and Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades genuinely want to find a lasting solution and have succeeded in narrowing the gap on the most sensitive issues. But they are obviously sensitive to their respective publics and, therefore, need the encouragement of Ankara, Athens and the international community.

Yet that is where we lack the right alignment of stars.

The Geneva talks that started on Jan. 9 are expected to be followed by the five-party conference with the added participation of the guarantor powers of Turkey, Greece and Britain. It is the first time the guarantor powers have been meeting since 1960. That in itself should tell us that all sides should be sitting at the table with the aim of finalizing a deal to end the decades-old conflict.

Yet look at what Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said ahead of the Geneva talks: "We have received assurances from the United Nations that this negotiation will be what we call in international debates 'open-ended' which means it will be a negotiation which, even if it stops, it will not be viewed as having collapsed, but that it can continue in the future with more preparation."

This hardly reflects a willingness to see the Geneva talks end with a successful outcome.

That is rather reminiscent of the rhetoric of the Turkish side in the 1990s – a rhetoric that downplayed the efforts to find a solution but reflected a sense of dragging feet. Unfortunately, Athens does not seem to be on board. While the Greek Cypriot administration is in need of support from Athens, one has the feeling that Anastasiades and his team have been at pains to keep hawks like Kotzias and his team on board. What a pity.

How about Ankara? So far, Turkey has left Mustafa Akinci's hands relatively free. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's stance will be critical. The rumors that he might not go to Geneva and send the Prime Minister is not a good sign. As he is the most unpopular leader in Europe, it is going to be easy to blame Erdogan. But the lack of enthusiasm on the part of Athens is certainly discouraging Turkey, fueling the sentiment that concessions are expected only from the Turkish side.

If the Greek Cypriot side, supported by Athens had the courage to go that extra mile, the Turkish side would not hesitate to go ahead and take the necessary steps for a compromised solution.

In that framework, the role of the international players gains a crucial importance especially in terms of encouraging the negotiating parties.

But there, too, we don't have the right alignment of stars.

Russia does not want a solution. The U.S. is in the midst of a transition. It is doubtful to what degree the guarantor, United Kingdom, which is busy with its own Brexit agenda, has leverage on the negotiating parties, while the European Union is lost in translation, to use a metaphor.

Anastasiades and Akinci have come extremely close to solving the most thorny, sensitive and complicated issue of the problem, property. It is going to be up to Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to agree on the issue of guarantees. A formula based on the presence of a decreased number of Turkish soldiers for a certain period of time, after which the issue could be revisited is a meaningful formula to work on.

It would be a pity to see the talks fail if the Greek side insists on ending the guarantee system with not a single Turkish soldier left on the island.

When I was in the south to cover the 2004 referendum for the Annan Plan, almost everybody I talked to said they would vote "no" because the plan allowed for the presence of a few hundred Turkish soldiers. As a result of their "no" votes, they have been living with 30,000 Turkish soldiers on the island."

[05] Arikli alleged that they have some "plans B'" in case of the Cyprus negotiation talks fail

Arguing that the Turkish Cypriot leader Akinci has made more concessions than the Greek Cypriot side, Arikli described as unacceptable the "promises" given on the issue of population and property. […].

Referring to the possibility of the talks in Geneva not to yield a positive result, Arikli supported that in such a case, the ""TRNC" should follow its own path, and argued that they have some "plans B", providing the example of Kosovo model, the Taiwan model and the model of Nakhichevan. "Nakhichevan, it's complexly independence internally, but its bounded to Azerbaijan in its external affairs. We may follow this model. There is also the Taiwan model. This is also a new model and there is a free zone", he argued.

(AK)

[06] Cavusoglu: Turkey has two main demands from Trump administration to mend ties with US

"We believe that the new administration [of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump] will not continue the same mistakes [committed by the outgoing administration of Barack Obama]. We have two main expectations. First, the extradition of the head of FETO [Fethullahist Terror Organization] as soon as possible. Second, ending cooperation with the YPG [People's Protection Units], an affiliate of the PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party]," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an address to Turkish Ambassadors gathered in Ankara for an annual conference on Jan. 9.

The theme of this year's conference is "Toward 2023: National Values and Global Objectives."

Recalling that the fulfillment of the two expectations would have great importance in regards to Turkish-U.S. relations, Cavusoglu said: "Turkey and U.S. are two strategic partners who have capabilities and power to create positive impacts over a wide region. We believe this cooperation must be preserved."

Declaring the July 15, 2016, coup attempt as the "most treacherous act" against Turkey, its people and its democracy, Cavusoglu said: "This coup attempt also targeted our foreign policy. The fight against FETO, the perpetrator of this coup attempt, is one of the top priorities of our foreign policy."

Cavusoglu also delivered important messages to the European Union, calling on Brussels to fulfill its promises to grant visa-free travel to Turkish nationals. "EU leaders should see this point: Turkey has made its own contribution to the EU's peace and security today. An EU without Turkey will be incomplete," he said.

[07] Turkish Parliament strained as charter talks start

While the four parties represented in Parliament gathered to launch the process in the General Assembly, police attacked nongovernmental organizations and political groups outside Parliament as they sought to protest the constitutional changes. Police dispersed groups with water cannon and use of force.

"The heads of 100 nongovernmental organizations wanted to come and make statements here [in front of the Parliament]. But now you see, Parliament is under blockade, the roads are closed, there is a TOMA [a water cannon vehicle]. We are under siege," main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Istanbul lawmaker Aykut Erdogdu said on Jan. 9, broadcasting the police blockade on the streets leading to Parliament via a social media account.

"It is very wrong to block Parliament on the eve of such an important constitutional change that will be discussed in Parliament," the main opposition Deputy added.

The CHP group is planning to prolong the process by issuing proposals and non-confidence motions in order to emphasize their opposition.

AKP Group Deputy Chairperson Mustafa Elitas criticized the CHP's plan to suggest it would appeal the amendments on the grounds that they are anti-constitutional.

MHP Deputy leader Semih Yalc?n also opposed the CHP's criticism that the amendment would pave the way for a federal system and ultimately the division of the country.

Peoples Democracy Party (HDP) Group Deputy Chairperson Filiz Kerestecioglu stated that the HDP would say "no" to the constitution, adding that the HDP would try to make sure that the lawmakers vote in a secret ballot, despite pressures from the ruling party.

[08] The three resigned CTP members joined TKP New Forces

In a press conference yesterday, the three members of CTP announced officially their participation at the TKP.

Mehmet Cakici, the founding leader of the TKP, speaking at the press conference, said that the Turkish Cypriot "people" is going through a difficult period. He noted that they established TKP, because they felt the need for a new political entity, adding that they are planning to name it Communal Liberation Party New Forces (TKP New Forces).

Cakici also explained that their aim is to turn the TKP in a mass party, with people joining from all different sectors. He concluded by saying that TKP will be the biggest alternative in the political life of the Turkish Cypriots.

(DPs)

[09] The breakaway regime is to be promoted in the Netherlands

The Fair will take place between the 10th and 15th of January in Jaarbeurs Utrecht.

Representatives from the "Cyprus Turkish Travel Agencies Association" and the "Cyprus Turkish Hoteliers Association" are taking part in the fair which is seen as a significant means to develop tourism ties with the Netherlands, according to Bayrak.

The "TRNC stands" will have promotional films both in English and Dutch and brochures detailing maps, bike roads and walking paths in the "country".

Last year 117 thousand people visited the fair.

[10] Turkish Lira tumbles to new record low against dollar

The lira was down more than 2 % to 3.73 to the dollar after the data showed U.S. wages rose in December 2016, prompting U.S. rate hike expectations.

Turkey's currency also slid to 3.93 against the euro on Jan. 9 under the shadow of various political and economic uncertainties, including discussions on contentious constitutional changes.

The lira lost 3.2 % last week, pounded by higher-than-expected inflation and security fears after a series of terror attacks. The economy has remained sluggish, with a smaller-than-expected rise in industrial production in November; while Moody's has warned that bank profits will be hit by increased non-performing loans. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

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(CS/AM)

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